Various types of connector devices have been devised to facilitate the making of electrical connections to the terminals on a printed circuit board. In many instances, the connectors which may be available in various standard sizes do not have a terminal capacity that suitably matches the number of terminals on the circuit board. It is therefore desirable to provide a connector which is capable of being made to any desired length by assembling a desired number of individual modules or units.
It is known in the art to provide, in general, a variable length connecting means comprising a plurality of individual connectors which may be coupled end-to-end, such a device being shown in the Barnard U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,087. Such prior art device, however, is not adapted for the connection of a plurality of individual conductors to a circuit board. Also, this reference does not disclose an arrangement whereby an electrical conductor can be inserted into an aperture in the sidewall of the external housing in a transverse direction, i.e. both at right angles to the axial length of the housing and at right angles to the direction of coupling of a plurality of such connector devices, and with such conductor being clamped in place by the tightening of an axially aligned screw. Thus, the connecting device of Barnard is not capable of being used in the manner contemplated for the connecting device of the present invention.